dolari | Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of wh

Sunday, August 3rd

We spent the night at Dean's, and he and Jill saw us off as we left Austin for the last time.

We'd done this before. In July of 2000, when we were still a couple, I drove from State College, PA to San Antonio, TX, and I crawled away from the apartment, keeping him in the rear view mirror for as long as I could, and once he dissapeared, I punched it for San Antonio never looking back.

I still have a soft spot for the guy, after all these years. He's one of my best friends, and while we made a pretty bad couple, we made better friends. Seeing him, in the rearview mirror, one last time before leaving Texas, brought back a lot of memories. In July 2000, though, I knew he would be coming down when the lease ran out, in September. Now...I don't know when I'll be back, if I come back to stay at all.

It was a real lump-in-the-throat moment for me, and as soon as he was out of the view of the rear view mirror, we punched it. With only one stop to pick up mail at hte PO Box, we left for San Antonio.

After getting home, and having showers, we went to visit someone I consider a sister, my friend Steph. And I got to meet my newest niece, Evelyn:

Obviously wanting to see me before I left, she was several weeks premature (although nice and healthy). Between her, the two Emilys and Hattie, We talked a good long while. She slept through it all except for a little time where she muttered and grunted before going back to a fast sleep. She grabbed my finger and decided not to let go. :)

Too soon, though, we had to leave them. We said our goodbyes, and made sure we were good and ready to go. I told them I loved them, and I would see them again. And again, another long painful goodbye.

We got home, and had a light dinner, and talked with my parents for a while. As I found out later, it didn't hit them that I would be leaving for good until well after I left, which explained why that night, for being my last night in San Antonio, was just so normal. To be honest, given all the goodbyes, to Dean, to Austin, to Steph...I wasn't ready for another Big One, and was glad for the calm before the storm.